Integrated circuit dies, also referred to as chips, are often encapsulated in a plastic molded package to protect the sensitive electronic components, e.g., integrated circuits, sensors, and so forth, from environmental effects and contaminants, such as moisture, physical shock, and the like. Unfortunately, electronic component dies encapsulated within a plastic molded package can be subject to both internal and external stresses exerted on an electronic component die that can adversely affect the performance of the electronic components.
Internal stresses may be caused by the die's interaction with the plastic molding material of the package itself. That is, both changes in temperature and humidity can cause the plastic to expand or contract, thereby imparting stress onto the encapsulated die. External stresses can originate from interaction of the package with the circuit board to which it is soldered within an end use application. Mismatches in the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) between the circuit board and the package can lead to stresses on the die after solder reflow and/or with subsequent temperature changes during operation. These stresses can adversely affect the performance of the integrated circuit die.
Thus, what is needed is an approach for decoupling stress sensitive electronic components of an integrated circuit die from the stresses induced by the packaging and/or by the board-mounting of the die in order to achieve improved overall performance of the die.